Sweden
Sweden Sweden starts in as a junior partner in the Kalmar Union. It's a Personal Union with Denmark as the major partner ruling over Sweden and Norway. Sweden can however break free using its better land forces and strategic blocking using its navy. Sweden's achievements are about control of the Baltic Sea and its time as a major player in the Thirty Years' War. Missions Sweden's missions are oriented around dominating her neighbors and forging a Dominium Maris Baltici. Events Sweden has many dynamic historical events, with two major series for the player to experience. Strategy Independence Securing supports for independence is far easier than securing large alliances once you are free, so don't declare until you have 5 very large allies. England, France, Burgundy, Austria, Brandenburg, Poland, and Muscovy will all support independence if you are patient and maintain +100 relations with them until they flip to friendly. It can take 20+ years to get 5 large allies, but it will be worth it. There is no risk of being integrated, you should stay above 50% liberty desire. Early supporters that you can trade in for larger ones later can be Novgorod, Scotland and the Teutonic Order. Note that this may put you above your diplomatic relations limit. Fighting the war is a simple matter of waiting for your allies to show up and win it for you, don't fight without huge terrain bonuses, and don't try to take more than independence. Once you declare war, your army and navy force limits should go up by 4-6. Expect the Ottomans, or other great powers to intervene, but so long as you have all 5 allies, it won't matter, you only need Denmark to have low enthusiasm, and 15 warscore to win, and you'll get that so quickly that the Ottomans won't be able to stop you. Any territory you take will upset your allies, and lengthen the truce timer. You instead want a short truce, then a second war where you can gobble up the rest of Scandinavia. Post-Independence If you are going to expand into Germany, it is possible to join the HRE to avoid wars with the Emperor. However, this requires releasing Finland and selling provinces, so it is usually not worth it. If dominance over the Baltic Sea is desired, then one of the biggest obstacles that Sweden will have to overcome is Muscovy / Russia, the other being Poland / Commonwealth. It is recommended to play one against the other. Allying Poland can provide a way for you to seize Muscovite territory, and vice-versa. The East If independence was achieved before Novgorod was completely absorbed, then the player should take the opportunity to attack the weaker Novgorod for key provinces before they have to contend with the much stronger Muscovy for the same provinces. Neva and Ingermanland are the top priority, since possessing them will deny Russia access to the Baltic. This will make securing Riga and the Livonian Order much easier for the player. You should also let Muscovy take Kola. The AI will often attack Norway and lose lots of manpower sieging down the Northern Norwegian forts, allowing the player to defeat Muscovy easily. Vassalizing Novgorod has the additional advantage that formerly Novgorodian land can be retaken from Muscovy for low warscore cost and less aggressive expansion. However, the first war with Muscovy may not cut Novgorod down enough to where Sweden can vassalize them in one war. A second war, possibly with Muscovy or Livonian Order, will typically be enough to secure Novgorod as a vassal. Defeating Russia will be difficult alone, but if you have Poland as an ally it will be much easier. You should also try to attack Russia simultaneously with the the Hordes, as they will help defeat the Russian army and weaken Russia in the peace deal. This will make later wars much easier. Scandinavia Take territory from Norway and Denmark too, but at a slow pace - always be aware of aggressive expansion. Norway is mostly a mirror of Russia: take Jämtland to even out the borders, but other than that, the only territories worth having are Akershus and Bergenhus (because of the trade power bonus). You should take the Atlantic islands early to avoid having England steal them from you. Mainland Europe If you wish to expand into Germany, you should consider becoming the Emperor to avoid wars with Austria. This can be easily achieved by improving relations with and allying the electors. Also consider taking the influence idea group to avoid coalitions in the HRE. You may also consider taking one province bordering the HRE (sea border) in your independence war, and improve relations with Austria so you can join the HRE. Ideas Good early idea groups include Influence (for reduced AE), Administrative (for reduced coring cost and Administrative tech cost), or perhaps Innovative ideas (for the reduced tech cost). After taking these idea groups, you should take either quantity or offensive. These synergize heavily your +20% infantry combat bonus and +5% discipline. If you want to make your army even more overpowered, take Economic and Innovative ideas in conjunction with Quality for the +5% discipline and +20% infantry combat ability policies, respectively. During the Age of Absolutism, Sweden has exclusive access to the ability Swedish Recruitment, granting a whopping +35% manpower recovery speed on top of their +20% from Indelningsverket. Alternately, Sweden can play the colonial game. Taking Iceland early and choosing Exploration or Expansion will allow you to be one of the first to reach the New World, which can help with Sweden's lackluster income potential due to low-development provinces. Keeping Norway as a vassal is another way to gain a foothold in the New World: Norway may colonize, and then the player can annex them, gaining their colonies. This is generally a worse idea, as the AI sucks at colonizing and often runs out of money. The Dacke War : The disastrous Dacke War can be avoided by forming Scandinavia, or staying Catholic or converting to Reformed. October 24th, 1648 start The devastating Thirty Years' War (1618-48) is finally over. Sweden has emerged as the dominant power in northern Europe with tremendous potential for expansion. Historically, Sweden never realized its full potential, having turned in a mediocre performance by EU standards until it's demise as a major power following the Great Northern War (1700-21). In this "scenario" the player's objective is to reverse the course of history by staving off disaster, and instead expanding Sweden's power and influence for posterity. However, despite Sweden's strong starting position and excellent military ideas and bonuses, success in this scenario CAN be difficult even for the experienced player. In 1648 Sweden has two underdeveloped colonies in North America in present-day New Jersey and Delaware (New Sweden). Unless the player wants to pursue a North American colonial empire, which is not recommended, it is strongly suggested that you sell them immediately. Due to your political position in Europe that demands your full attention and resources, you will be unable to adequately defend them against the English and or Dutch who each possess larger and stronger navies. The Netherlands will usually offer you the best deal as opposed to also adjacent England or France. If you choose to keep and develop them, then prepare for wars with England, the Netherlands and the many Native American powers in the area. In the end, it simply is not worth your time, resources and effort unless you have colonial imperial aspirations.